When working on a self-published book, one of the most important aspects is the book cover. Even if you’ve had the perfect cover designed, there may be times when you need to change the size due to certain formatting limitations. So, how can you resize a book cover in Photoshop without losing anything?

As a general rule, document resizing in Photoshop can be done from the Image menu. When a book cover needs to be resized, go to the Image menu and select Image Size. From here, document size and pixel dimensions can be adjusted to the proper size.

A book cover is one of the key marketing tools that will help get your book into readers’ hands, so it’s important to get it right. Keep reading to learn how to resize a book cover in Photoshop, so that you don’t lose aspects of your design when it goes to print.

How To Resize A Book Cover In Photoshop

When designing your book cover, the size has a huge impact on not only how it looks, but how it is perceived by your readers. For this reason, there are general guidelines on how large or small a cover should be, depending on which genre your book falls into.

If you’ve already designed your cover, don’t fret. The size can easily be changed in Photoshop with a few adjustments.

Finding Your Book Cover Size

The size of book covers can vary greatly. For example, if you are working on a children’s book, the average cover size is 7 inches by 10 inches. However, mass-market paperback novels are usually 4.25 inches by 6.87 inches.

There is a difference in size between hardcover and paperback books as well. Hardcover books are generally taller and wider than their paperback counterparts. Therefore, it’s a good idea to do some research on your genre, before adjusting your cover design.

Here are some of the most popular standard book cover sizes for different genres:

• Paperback Fiction: 5.25’ x 8’
• Hardcover Fiction: 6” x 9”
• Paperback Novels: 5” x 8”
• Memoirs: 5.5” x 8.5”
• Non-Fiction: 6” x 9”
• Textbooks: 8.5” x 11”
• Children’s Books: 7” x 10”

Keep in mind that these are standard measurement sizes, but you aren’t limited to them. If you have a practical justification, don’t be afraid to branch out and try a different size.

What Aspect Ratio Are Book Covers?

Another thing to keep in mind is the aspect ratio of your cover. If you are designing a cover for an ebook, this is especially important to know.

Every device’s screen has an aspect ratio that determines how many pixels will show up across the screen. For example, the most recent iPad has an aspect ratio of 4:3. That means for every 4000 pixels of height, there will be 3000 pixels of width.

As a general rule, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) recommends that every ebook cover art follow an aspect ratio of 1.6:1, with a pixel height of at least 2,500 for the best quality. 

Resizing Your Cover From the Image Menu

Now that you know what size your book cover should be, it’s time to resize it. To do this start by opening up the file in Photoshop. It may be a good idea to make a copy of the file before attempting to make any changes to that you still have the original to work with.

Next, click on Image from the menu bar and select Image Size. In the Image Size window, you will see options for adjusting pixel dimensions and document size.

To scale your image by Document Size, you will enter the size in inches in the Width and Height boxes. For example, for a standard children’s book, your width would be set to 7 and the height would be 10.

To scale your image by Pixel Size, you will need to know the exact number of pixels your document should have. For example, if you follow the KDP aspect ratio recommendations, you would enter 1,600 for the width and 2,560 for the height.

When you’re done, simply click OK.

Where Else Can Book Covers Be Made?

If the idea of working with Photoshop makes you a bit uneasy, you could always test out making your book cover with Placeit.net. Placeit offers tons of premade book cover templates that can easily be resized and customized with the click of a button.

Plus, when you’re done, just switch over to the mockup creator to make your very own product mockups.

Final Thoughts

Working with book covers can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. Hopefully, this quick guide helped you learn how to easily resize a book cover in Photoshop so that your prints come out right every time.